


NightWitch: Horsemen

by MauveIdiot



Series: NightWitch (Wolverine and the X-Men Cartoon) [4]
Category: Wolverine And The X-Men (Cartoon)
Genre: Age of Apocalypse, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fix It, Friends to Lovers, absolute bs, but like the focus is Kurt and wanda bc i'm trash, its not supposed to be that good, kinda season two, please excuse the stuff that I just make up to suit my purposes, to parents, what are accents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 23:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30063507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MauveIdiot/pseuds/MauveIdiot
Summary: Set after season one, roughly following an Apocalypse plot line. Sinister abducts Wolverine and the Scarlet Witch to be Apocalypses horsemen. Kurt & Wanda's POVs.
Relationships: Kitty Pryde & Kurt Wagner, Logan (X-Men) & Kurt Wagner, Lorna Dane & Wanda Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff/Kurt Wagner
Series: NightWitch (Wolverine and the X-Men Cartoon) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210667
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**NightWitch: Horsemen**

* * *

**KURT**

The lights went out when the storm hit.

Kurt was sitting in the kitchen of the X mansion, building an absolutely _wunderbar_ sandwich, when everything went dark.

"Agh! Ouch!" exclaimed Bobby, his outcry accompanied by the sound of a chair clattering. "I tripped."

"You were sitting down," Kitty replied dryly.

The two teens were sitting at the table eating a late dinner while Kurt perched on the counter with his sandwich, only his yellow eyes shining in the pitch black room.

"It must be the storm," he said, peering out the window to where the wind lashed the sea into a frenzy. "The back-up generators should kick in any minute."

"I can't see a thing," complained Bobby. "And my foot hurts."

"Oh, do you need a Band-aid?" Kitty cooed sarcastically. "You big baby."

Kurt took a big bite of his sandwich but paused in his chewing as a noise tickled his elfin ears.

"Can you see anything Kurt?" asked Kitty more seriously. "I wish I had night vision."

"Shmph." said Kurt with his mouth full. "I'm lishtening."

Bobby didn't listen. "Are you eating? At a time like this? I'm in _pain_ -ow!"

Kitty hit his arm with surprising precision in the dark. "He's listening, you dummy."

Somewhere in the mansion a clatter and bang sounded, followed by what might have been muffled cursing.

Putting down his sandwich, Kurt turned to the other two X-Men.

"It's probably nothing. You two sit tight," he said, and _BAMF_ _ed_ out into the front hall.

"Are we gonna listen to him?" asked Bobby.

"No way," replied Kitty.

In the dark front hall Kurt _BAMFed_ again, up onto the ceiling where he could see but remain unseen as a shadowy figure darted across the hall.

"Aha!" _BAMF_. He caught the shadowy figure by the shoulders and toppled them to the ground, only to find himself entangled with Jean instead of an intruder. Scott was going to kill him.

"Apologies, mein Freund." Kurt awkwardly disentangled himself from the red-haired telepath and offered her a hand up. "I thought you were a burglar."

"Kurt!" she said as he helped her to her feet. "There's someone here! I can sense them. We need to find Logan and the others."

"Can you sense who it is? The Mardies? The Brotherhood? I left Kitty and Bobby in the kitchen. I told them to stay put while I checked things out."

Behind them something crashed, and they whirled to find Kitty and Bobby standing sheepishly over an upended table and a broken vase. Kitty could phase through things in the dark…Bobby couldn't.

"About that…" said Kitty.

"It was her idea!" added Bobby.

"It doesn't matter," Kurt said. "There is an intruder in the mansion. We need to find them and warn the others."

"Yeah, there's just one problem with that," said Kitty. "Most of us can't see in the dark."

"Right. Wait here," said Kurt, and teleported away. In a few moments he was back with flashlights for the others. "You guys stick together, I'm going to find Logan."

He covertly teleported through the mansion, checking Logan's room, the war room, and the chamber where Professor Xavier still lay in a coma. Wolverine was nowhere to be found, though he did bump into Ororo and Scott, nearly getting his tail singed off in the process.

"There's someone here," said Kurt. "But I don't know where. Jean said she can sense them."

Ororo asked, "Do you know how many intruders?"

"Just one, as far as I know."

Scott frowned. "The backup generators should have come on by now. Whoever it is wants to keep us in the dark."

Kurt's ears twitched as he listened for noises in the dark. He could just make out the hushed voices of Jean and the others, and somewhere deeper in the mansion…sounds of fighting.

"This way," he said, leading the other two down the hall, all the way to the hanger beneath the tennis court, where they kept the blackbird. Without any lights it was a vast, chilly cavern of darkness, but his sharp yellow eyes could see the huge shape of the jet and something splashed on the concrete floor.

Blood.

"Wait," he said, holding a hand out to stop Ororo and Scott and he knelt to touch the spreading stain. It was still warm.

In the wall near the blood were long claw marks that were easily recognizable as Wolverine's, but there was no one else in the hangar.

Or maybe they _weren't_ alone, thought Kurt as something moved in the deep shadows behind the blackbird.

"Over there!" he shouted, pointing to where a corpse-pale face shone dimly in the dark, skin tinged the faintest blue of hypothermia. Sharp teeth showing in a malicious grin.

"Sinister." Scott swore, blasting the figure with his laser vision. Metal and concrete exploded as he hit the wall. Sinister had vanished, but the sounds of his deep, throaty chuckle resonated through the hangar, taunting them.

* * *

**WANDA**

The sound of rain berating Magneto's metal palace on Genosha was almost musical, thought Wanda as she stood just within the open balcony doors to her room, watching wave after wave of torrential rain wash over the city she had spent her whole life helping her father build.

But her father was gone now.

She had banished him herself, and now all this-a whole island full of mutants-depended on _her_.

Things were going remarkably well considering the sudden shift in power; the communications tower was in full working order again, electricity was back on, and the rebuilding after the Sentinel attack was almost finished. She had even managed to re-integrate all the mutants from her father's cells back into Genoshan society. _That_ hadn't been easy…but it had been the right thing to do.

She was doing a good job here.

But she still felt alone.

"You're yearning again," said Lorna in her soft voice, coming up behind Wanda and laying a hand on her arm. "For a certain X-Man?"

"I am not yearning," replied Wanda sternly. "I am merely thinking about the festival next week."

The festival had been Lorna's idea. A way to celebrate the completion of their rebuilding.

Lorna brightened. "Oh! It's going to be wonderful, I promise. You don't have to worry about a thing. Blink and Dust are helping me arrange everything, it's going to be so beautiful." She gently elbowed Wanda. "You could invite Kurt."

"I'm sure the X-Men have their hands full," Wanda said stiffly, though she had already thought about inviting Kurt to the festival, but couldn't bring herself to. They hadn't spoken in almost six months, and before that she had let her father keep him imprisoned. Even when they were fighting for their lives in Mojo's hunting grounds, she had nearly let one of his best friends drown. Though there had been a moment…

_Wanda, your life is important to me._

But that was the thing about Kurt Wagner; he cared so much about everyone. He tried to protect everyone. He was so good that maybe he could forgive her for all the terrible things she had done, maybe he would even accept an invitation to the festival and give her a chance to show him that she could change.

But maybe he wouldn't.

She simply couldn't face his rejection.

"Don't you think true love deserves a chance?" asked Lorna. She was too much of an idealist; Wanda was a realist. She believed in love, she just didn't believe in true love. She believed in two people making things work because they cared enough to work at it. She didn't believe she could make a relationship work, because she was too much like her father.

"Don't be a child, Lorna," she said, a little too harshly. "You're too old to believe in fairytales."

Lorna blanched, her green eyes going wide and her lip quivering slightly, and it was almost enough to make Wanda take her words back until she saw that Lorna wasn't looking at her anymore. She was looking past her.

Spinning around, Wanda caught sight of a fearsome winged shadow in the storm, outlined by a flash of lightning, before something knocked both her and Lorna back.

They tumbled into Wanda's bedchamber, crashing into a dresser.

They were back on their feet in an instant, red light glowing around Wanda's closed fists.

"Stay back, Lorna," she said, stalking towards the winged silhouette standing in the open balcony doors. "Go find help."

In a flurry of wings and wind the winged mutant surged into the room, shooting feather blades that Wanda deflected with crimson shields of energy. She held her own, even managing to hurl the assailant back against the wall with a blast, until a flash of green distracted her.

Lorna. She hadn't gone for help.

In that moment of distraction the winged mutant sliced through her defenses, three razor-sharp feathers cutting her shoulder, her calf, and her side. The pain was crippling, bringing her to her knees, but she kept fighting. She had to protect Lorna.

"Wanda!" exclaimed Lorna, and then she was by her sister's side. She stammered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I froze. I was too scared."

"It's alright," said Wanda through gritted teeth, trying to sound calm and authoritative. "Just stay behind me and we'll get out of here."

"I can help, I promise-" She helped Wanda to her feet just as another barrage of steel feathers shot towards them and Wanda shoved Lorna behind her.

It was over when the blades hit. Three of them lodging in her ribs, pain choking off her scream, and this time she couldn't get up. She couldn't even conjure a sputter of power. She could only watch as the winged mutant advanced on Lorna.

"Get out of the way," he said, wings raised to strike. He hovered three feet off the floor, a reddish-purple diamond glittering on his forehead.

"No." Lorna stood her ground, between Wanda and their assailant. She might have been scared before, but now she was _angry_. Her clenched fists trembled. "Who are you and what do you want?"

His head tilted. "I am Archangel, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

"Yeah well, _I'm_ Polaris, daughter of Magneto, and _you_ have metal wings."

With a jerk she wrenched him out of the air, metal grating as Archangel fought the pull of her magnetism, feathers popping free of his wings, a scream tearing from his mouth.

Then Lorna collapsed to the ground, a woman in purple stepping around her body, fingertips pressed to her temples. A telepath.

Archangel hadn't come alone.


	2. Chapter Two

* * *

**KURT**

Sinister took Wolverine.

The backup generators kicked in not long after their encounter with the villainous intruder, and Beast's DNA analysis of the blood in the hangar confirmed that it belonged to Logan, but no amount of searching by the team revealed any hint as to where the X-Men's _de facto_ leader had disappeared to.

The whole team gathered in the war room to regroup and make a plan of action. Most of them were still in their pajamas but they were all wide awake and ready to argue about what to do.

Bobby: "We should go after him, right? That's what he would do if one of us was captured."

Kitty: " _Of course_ we should go after him; the problem is that we don't know where he is. None of us can track like Logan."

Scott: "If Sinister is involved then we could be walking into a trap. We know he's always wanted Jean-"

Jean: "But I'm not the Phoenix anymore, and anyways, he already has my DNA. He's after something else this time."

Scott: "Sinister's old hideout was cleared out months ago, and we have no idea where he's working from."

Rogue: "He and Angel have been pretty quiet, actually."

Hank: "Plotting, no doubt."

Eventually it was decided that Jean would use Cerebro to try and locate Logan, but her abilities simply hadn't been the same since she lost the Phoenix Force, and she wasn't having any luck.

Until she found him there was nothing for the rest of the team to do but sit tight and wait.

Dawn colored the windows of the mansion peach as Kurt walked towards the kitchen. They had been up all night, though it felt like longer. His stomach growled, and when he stepped into the kitchen he found Bobby eating a sandwich. And not just any sandwich-Kurt's sandwich from the night before, which he'd never had the chance to finish.

"Oh," Bobby said with his mouth full, "wuh you gonna fimmish dis?"

Kurt shook his head; he didn't really feel like eating, despite the complaints of his stomach. "It's all yours."

Bobby swallowed. "It's a little stale anyways."

Slowly, other members of the team filtered in to find breakfast, and Kurt found himself making omelets for Rogue, Ororo, and Tildie, though they were unfortunately out of milk. They were _always_ out of milk with so many people at the institute, and no amount of grocery runs could keep up.

Not that _he_ ever went grocery shopping. With Operation Wide Awake and the Mardies still tense after everything that happened the year before, it was safer for the more…normal-looking X-Men to make toilet paper runs, meaning that unless he was on a mission, Kurt was effectively trapped at the X mansion.

He'd never thought he would long to wander the isles of a supermarket, but sometimes he wished he could go out with his friends and be normal.

In a flash he remembered a time when he _could_ go out and be normal, on Genosha, with-

"Kurt?" asked Rogue, her gloved hand lightly touching his wrist. "You okay there?"

"I'm fine," he said, shaking off the memory. "Just worried about Logan."

She looked at the ground. "Me too."

He finished making breakfast and left without eating; he wasn't hungry anymore. Maybe he could run a few drills in the danger room to clear his head.

"Kurt, wait!" Ororo stopped him in the hall. "We're getting an urgent transmission from Genosha, and she will only speak to you."

"Wanda?" he wondered, but when he stepped into the war room it was a slight, green-haired face on the screen. "Lorna?" he asked in confusion; he knew Wanda's sister but he had never really spoken to her.

"Kurt!" Lorna looked visibly relieved; in fact, she looked like she had barely been holding herself together. Something in Kurt's stomach twisted. "Oh, Kurt, I-I didn't know who else to call. You have to do something. You're an X-man, and you love Wanda, and you have to help." She sniffled, close to tears.

"Lorna please slow down." His head spun as he tried to make sense of what she was saying, even as he experienced whiplash from _you love Wanda_. "Has something happened to Wanda?"

Lorna's face crumpled. "She's been abducted."

* * *

**WANDA**

In her dreams she was somewhere dark and cold, a haunting deep voice filtering down from above. _The Scarlet Witch_ , it crooned, _Magneto's own daughter and the ruler of Genosha. Yes, she will do nicely._

Then another voice, close and gravelly.

".…Wendy?…Wendy wake up…C'mon Wendy…"

Someone shook Wanda, causing a sharp pain to ripple through her. She was awake in an instant, her eyes snapping open to find none other than _Wolverine_ crouched beside her, limned in harsh white florescence.

His hand lay on her shoulder and she shoved it off. "My name isn't Wendy, it's _Wanda,_ you stupid oaf."

"'Atta girl." Wolverine grinned, showing off his pointed canines, and clapped her on the back. "Nice of you to rejoin the living. I thought you might be a goner."

Wanda pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing again at the pain searing through her ribs. With a jolt she remembered what had happened. The attack on the palace.

"Lorna!" Her eyes went wide. "Do you know if she's here? Where…where is here?"

Wolverine shook his head. "It's just you 'n me as far as I can tell. I was out when they brought me here but if I had to bet I'd say we're somewhere in one of Sinister's labs, underground." His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. "Upstate."

They were in a large, crisp white cell illuminated by florescent panels in the high ceiling, with two minimalist white cots and a windowless door set into one wall. It didn't look like much by Wanda's standards. Certainly not enough to hold her and Wolverine.

"What are you doing sitting there?" she asked. "Let's get out of here."

She drew on her powers but a red glow barely flickered to life in her hands before a crippling electric shock tore through her, agonizing pain bringing her to the ground. It was several minutes before she recovered enough to sit up again, and even then she was dizzy, the room swimming.

"Yeah, you didn't think I'd try that?" Wolverine said in his gruff voice. He touched a simple metal collar fastened at his neck. "These are some sort of power dampeners. Hank and Forge developed the technology for mutants with uncontrollable powers, but they juiced 'em with something, like an electric dog collar. I didn't think they would work on me, but here we are."

Wanda touched the cold metal around her throat. "When I get my hands on that winged devil…"

"Get in line." Wolverine smirked. "Though I'm more interested in gettin' my hands on Sinister."

There wasn't much to do after that so she busied herself by taking stock of her surroundings, noting that the door didn't even have a handle on this side, Wolverine had a massive tear in his gray shirt (neither of them had come nicely, it seemed), and that she felt truly awful. Bruises and scrapes from her fight with Archangel stung, not to mention the cuts on her calf and shoulder. Her head throbbed with the beginnings of a migraine.

Wolverine watched her. "You got beat up pretty bad."

"I'll be alright." She delicately touched a hand to her lower ribs, where the worst of the damage was. Someone had bandaged her wounds but her fingers still came away sticky with blood. It looked and felt terrible, but she was more interested in getting out of here and finding her sister than she was in succumbing to blood loss.

"Here," Wolverine reached for her. "I've learned a thing or two about injuries."

"No-" She recoiled, drawing defensively back against the wall of the cell. Her voice was cool. "Don't touch me."

He raised his hands. "Not the trusting type, okay. That's fair."

She softened a little; his concern seemed surprisingly genuine, but she would rather grit her teeth through the pain of infection than let anyone see her act wounded. "I told you, I'll be alright."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for an interminable time; it was difficult to know how long exactly when they were shut up in the eerie white cell with no way of even telling if it was day or night. It felt like day to Wanda, but it had been night when Archangel attacked. She wondered how long she'd been unconscious.

Wolverine lounged on his cot, looking both furious and bored to death. After staring at the wall for a while he finally looked at her again.

He said, tone mildly accusatory, "You never call."

That caught her off guard. "I-what?"

"The elf. You never call him."

She feigned ignorance. "Why ever would I need to call Kurt?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

His gaze was penetrating but she didn't flinch. Who was he to pretend to know anything about her? Had Kurt told him something? Did he…talk about her? The idea made her feel strangely warm, butterflies frenzying in the pit of her stomach. She needed to pull herself together. She had to change the subject before Wolverine asked her something she couldn't answer.

"I almost let you die." she blurted it out, watching Wolverine's expression shift to something unreadable.

Her voice softened, regret creeping in. "On the hunting grounds, when the water was rising. It would have solved so many problems; it might have even made my father proud." She let out a tiny breath of laughter. How much she'd changed, these last few months. There was no chance of making her father proud now.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I…I think I want to apologize." She blinked her blue eyes in slight disbelief. "I'm sorry, Wolverine. Truly."

Her gaze fell to the ground, and she wrapped her cape tighter around her shoulders. She waited for his condemnation but he didn't say anything for a long time, and when he finally spoke his words were grudging and unexpected.

"You might as well call me Logan."


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

**KURT**

"It has to be connected," said Kurt, pacing along the wall of the war room, arms crossed. "There is no other explanation."

"Well, yes," said Beast, his furry blue fingers knitted together, "and at least we know that Angel took the Scarlet Witch, and that it's likely Sinister is behind both hers' and Logans' abductions."

Ororo nodded; it was just her, Hank, Scott, and Kurt in the room. Everyone else was getting some sleep while Jean searched for Logan. "But we are no closer to finding them or uncovering Sinister's plans than we were before. This doesn't change anything."

Kurt shook his head with frustration. "This changes everything."

Beast and Storm shared a concerned glance; it wasn't normal for Nightcrawler to get so worked up.

Scott watched them all from behind his bloodred sunglasses. "We attempted to make contact with Quicksilver or Magento, but they're still in the wind. Not surprising, considering that we've been trying to locate them for months. Not that we need their help."

"We can't just stand around doing nothing," said Kurt, _BAMFing_ down off the wall. "How close is Jean to locating them? Do we have any leads on Sinister's henchmen?"

"Jean is doing the best she can, and all of Sinister's known henchmen have been lying low." Scott regarded Kurt for a moment before finally deciding to divulge the rest of his news. "I talked to the professor earlier, and he said that we have to rescue Wolverine _and_ the Scarlet Witch or things will get worse. A lot worse. He didn't tell me how exactly, but he sounded urgent."

That sucked all the air out of the room, and Kurt's lungs. What would happen to the world if they couldn't rescue Logan and Wanda-and more importantly, what would happen to Wanda? Logan could survive just about anything with a chip on his shoulder, but he was exceptional. He was _Wolverine_.

But Wanda…

He couldn't help but remember how Sinister would have _disposed_ of Jean and Scott if the X-Men hadn't broken them out of his labs. He couldn't help but think of how Sinister had turned Warren against them.

Everyone was filing out of the war room when Scott stopped Kurt, holding him back.

He said, "I know that look. I saw it in every time I looked in the mirror after Jean disappeared. You're losing it, giving in to despair."

"We've already lost Warren to Sinister. We can't lose Logan and-" Kurt broke off, turning abruptly away, raking one hand raggedly through his hair. Very softly, he said, "We have to get them back."

Scott laid a hand on his shoulder. "And we will. But you have to be able to focus. You can't go running into danger without a plan. I know because I've gone after Sinister with nothing more than a broken heart and adrenaline, and the X-Men had to come in and pull my fat out of the fryer."

Kurt hung his head. Scott was right; he wasn't thinking clearly, and that could put the team in jeopardy. It could ruin their chances of getting Logan and Wanda back.

Scott said, slightly hesitantly, "I didn't know about you and this girl…"

"Wanda."

"Yeah," Scott let out a breath that was almost a chuckle. "Magneto's daughter. I wouldn't worry too much, if she's anything like her father she'll survive whatever Sinister is planning."

Kurt looked at the ground, the knot in his stomach tightening. "I just hope you are right."

* * *

**WANDA**

The door to their cell slid open with the soft sigh of pneumatic technology, revealing Sinister in his red cape, flanked by Archangel and a purple-clad telepath that Wanda now recognized as an old friend of her brother's: Psylocke.

Wanda and Logan were both on their feet in less than a heartbeat, and a glance between the two communicated that they would both fight to escape this.

"You've got some nerve, bub," growled Logan, "thinking you can hold me."

"Oh," intoned Sinister, a half smile playing across his lips, "I'm not just going to hold you, I am going to _remake_ you. I am going to strip you down to nothing and build you back up into something new and marvelous and terrible. This will be your final rebirth."

Logan was not impressed. "I've done the whole lobotomy thing and I'm not a fan."

Wanda added, "What do you think will happen when my father hears of this? Do you really think you can stand against him?"

Sinister chuckled darkly, "Invoking your daddy, little witch? What reason does he have to care about you when you broke his heart? And anyways, by the time Magneto hears of this it will be far too late."

He gestured to Archangel and Psylocke, who stepped forward in time to be attacked by Logan and Wanda. Neither had their powers but Logan was still supernaturally strong, and Wanda had grown up with the best mutant tutors of every kind-including hand-to-hand combat and martial arts.

Logan head-butted Archangel, knocking him back, both of them tumbling through the door in a tangle of furious wings and gritted teeth.

Wanda knew she had to knock Psylocke out, and _fast_ , or she would use her telepathic abilities against her. Wanda lunged forward, twisting her body to give force to the kick that sent the telepath flying back, her head cracking against the metal wall. She slumped to the ground and didn't get back up.

Then Wanda was out in the hall and running, Logan right beside her.

"Archangel?" she asked.

"Took care of him."

"Where is Sinister?" She gasped, out of breath already, stumbling a little. Where her ribs were hurt felt like barbs under her skin, tearing deeper with every step.

"I dunno. He should be coming after us." Logan glanced back. "I have a bad feelin' about this."

The cell block was a labyrinth of white corridors suffuse with florescent light, pale metal doors set into the corridors at intervals, none of them leading to anything but more cells, more hallways, more nothingness. It seemed unreal. With every moment Wanda felt more and more like a rat in a maze racing towards a trap.

Then a figure stepped out of the door at the end of the hall. A woman in a long cape, silhouetted against bone-white luminescence. Her hair hung past her shoulders but Wanda couldn't tell anything else about her.

"Stop." Her voice was smooth, elegant, lightly accented.

Beside Wanda, Wolverine stumbled. Wanda came to a staggering halt, compelled to cease moving so abruptly that her legs nearly buckled.

Sinister had another telepath.

" _No, get out_ ," Wanda said fiercely, pressing her knuckles to her forehead. " _I have to fight._ "

"You really don't." In one smooth motion the woman raised one hand to her temple and a wave of intense, electric pain shot through Wanda's mind, knocking her off her feet. It hit Logan, too, but he managed to hold his ground.

"You have to run," Wanda told Logan, trying to drag herself to her feet but failing miserably. The pain in her head was telling her to give in, give up, sleep now. _Close your eyes…_

"I'm not strong enough to fight it. Logan, you have to-"

And then everything went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

**WANDA**

There was a telepath inside her head. Rifling through her memories, rooting things out, breaking things that should be left at the back of the highest, most forgotten shelves.

All the way back to before Genosha. Before her father claimed her.

_She was a slight shadow of a girl covered in mud, grubby little hands holding tight to her mother's tattered skirt. A rattling old wagon splashed filthy water onto her feet and she shivered. She was so cold, so hungry…_

Wanda pulled against the restraints securing her to a metal gurney in a lab deep underground. "No! No no nonono…"

 _She was twelve years old, a language she'd half forgotten on her tongue. Her hands bleeding red light. Screaming. Not_ her _screams but the revolted screaming anger of the people chasing her, a glass bottle breaking beside her head as she ducked into an alley._

 _"_ _Witch! Catch the little witch!"_

The screams weren't all in her head. She couldn't tell who was screaming. Was it her? Was it Logan? She no longer knew her own voice, could not differentiate between her thoughts and the presence of the telepath in her mind.

_Scorn. Fear. Repulsion. Distrust. A thousand pairs of eyes flashed through her memory, a thousand glances from humans who would spit on her if they had the chance. People who would whisper and turn their children away as if it was mutants who were the problem. As if they hadn't sat in the basement of a community center listening to some radical maniac tell them that mutants were the enemy, filling their heads with lies._

_As if they couldn't see the terrible things happening to mutants every day. Children abandoned on the streets, homeless and hungry. Mutants refused medical help because they didn't look human enough, because they might frighten someone. Because they made people feel unsafe._

_That was all she had ever wanted: to feel safe. For all of her people to feel safe. That was why she had to banish her father from Genosha, because he put the safety of their people at risk in the only place where mutants shouldn't have to fear anything._

A whisper in her head. "The powerful should not have to fear the weak."

 _I am not afraid_ , Wanda thought, from deep down in the dark well of her mind. _I am_ ** _angry._**

"Fury is your inheritance…revolution your birthright."

Then she was waking up, her mind surfacing enough to know her surroundings, feel cold metal beneath her and hear the faint hum of machinery nearby. She wasn't alone.

"You remember." A deep, melodic voice washed over her. "You remember every time the humans wronged you. The horror and fear that you did nothing to deserve. Does it make you angry? Does it make you want to seek retribution?"

"Yes."

The voice purred, "Tell me…what is it that you want most?"

Her eyes snapped open. "Revenge."

* * *

**KURT**

Kurt's pacing quickly turned into a blistering run through the danger room, which turned into more pacing and, finally, him sprawled upside-down on a couch in the common room, staring miserably at a wall.

That was how Rogue found him when she burst into the room hours later.

"We've found them," she said in her light southern accent. "Jean got a lock on Logan, upstate."

Kurt flipped right-side up and hopped off the couch, already out the door before she finished. "What are we waiting for?"

* * *

The blackbird flew so fast its engines made a high-pitched whine that hurt Kurt's ears. Clouds blurred past, and below them stretched summer-green fields and ripening apple orchards, which gave way to foothills thickly clustered with dark pine forests.

Since Logan was gone Cyclops had taken charge. He addressed the team as they closed in on Logan's location. Sinister's new hideout.

"Here's the plan. We don't know what we're walking into but we do have two objectives: Wolverine and the Scarlet Witch. We need to get inside, locate the targets, and get back out as quickly as possible. They may not be together so once we're inside we'll split into two teams. Shadowcat, Storm, and Nightcrawler are with me. Iceman, Jean, and Rogue are team two. Hank, you're in charge of the blackbird."

The blackbird whirred as it sank towards a treeless hill where a discrete concrete building stood, whipping the pines around its base into a frenzy. Cloaked, it settled onto the grass and the X-Men disembarked.

Cyclops ordered, "Shadowcat, phase us in."

Once inside they split into two teams, Kurt going with Cyclops and the others, scouting ahead and relaying the lay of the labs back to Scott. And all the while trying to keep a clear head. He was usually so focused on missions-he was _good_ at this, so why was his heart beating so fast?

He tapped his comm. "This hall ends at a set of doors. Big ones, but no guards. In fact, I haven't seen anyone."

Cyclops's voice fuzzed slightly with interference. "Good. We're coming up on where you are. Be ready to go when I blast the doors open."

Kurt hid himself in the shadows of a side doorway while he waited for the others to catch up. Anticipation and nerves itched under his skin, making the pointed end of his tail twitch. But there was something else niggling him; the sense that this was all too easy.

No guards.

No alarms.

It was almost like Sinister wanted them to walk right in. Like he had left the doors open and a sign saying _Come Right In, This Definitely Isn't A Trap._

"Wait-"

But it was too late.

Cyclops came around the corner and blasted the doors down with his laser vision, metal screeching as it tore apart. Then they were inside a large, circular room plated in metal, a dais rising from the floor. On it stood Sinister in his long red cape, villainous smile painted across his face.

"Well well well…"

And flanking him were Logan and Wanda, dressed in blue and red, bright purplish-red diamonds glowing on their foreheads.

They were too late.

Kurt could see it in Wolverine's steely blue eyes, lit with cold anger. He could see it in the way Wanda looked right through him, as if he didn't exist at all. Sinister had turned them just as he turned Angel.

"I see our guests have arrive," said Sinister, showing his teeth. "Welcome to the party. We have been waiting for you."

"We didn't come for fun and games," said Cyclops loudly, the acoustics of the room amplifying his voice. "We came for our friends, so let them go."

"You _friends_ as you call them are free to go any time they please." Sinister made a shooing motion at Wanda. "Go on if you want. I won't stop you."

Wanda didn't move. Neither did Wolverine.

Kurt's gut twisted. "You brainwashed them. That jewel on their foreheads controls them."

Sinister tsked. "Do I come into your home and make accusations? Your friends have joined the cause. They have seen the light of the future."

"No," Storm said coldly, lightning flickering around her fingertips, "you stole their future to bend it to your own purposes."

"Not _my_ purposes per say," Sinister raised his hands like a preacher at a pulpit. "The purposes of all mutants, from the dawn of time…In fact, I would like you to meet my associate, Lord Apocalypse."

A doorway in the wall opened up and out stepped a tall muscular mutant with a blue-lipped smile as wide as the Cheshire cat's, and standing beside him were Archangel and-no, it couldn't be.

Emma Frost.

That was impossible. The telepath had died to destroy the Phoenix Force. She had shattered into a million glittering diamond pieces.

And yet.

It _was_ Emma Frost standing there-or what was left of her. A dark purplish-red jewel shone on her forehead, and her fair skin was covered in a tracery of fine, silvery scars like a spiderweb stretched over her whole body. She looked fractured. Broken. But still alive.

"I thought Humpty-Dumpty was intense," said Kitty.

"He put her back together," said Ororo with a mixture of awe and horror. "How is that possible?"

"Cyclops, what's the plan?" asked Kurt, glancing over to find their team leader utterly speechless. " _Scott?_ "

Cyclops shook his head. "Right. New plan. We're grabbing _everyone_." He tapped his comm to signal team two. "Shadowcat, Storm, get Logan out of here. If we can get them far enough away from Sinister he might lose control of them. Kurt-" they locked eyes- "you grab Wanda. Team two will get Angel. I'm going to get Frost."

With that, Cyclops blasted Sinister with his laser vision and moved towards Emma, leaving everyone else to their respective orders. Storm whirled high into the air, wind roaring through the room around Wolverine, Shadowcat right behind her.

Kurt found himself face-to-face with Wanda. Crimson energy crackled around her hands, a bright aura of red light wicking around her whole body, the air humming with energy; whatever Sinister had done to her made her more powerful. A lot more powerful.

"You need to leave," she said, voice chilly. "You're not welcome here."

Then she raised her hands and shot a sizzling sphere of red energy straight at him.

"I'm not leaving without you," he teleported away from her blast, only to have to duck a crimson bolt. "This isn't you, Wanda."

"This _is_ me," she said, blue eyes lit with keen, fiery anger.

He caught her by the shoulders and- _BAMF_ -they were in the hall outside the labs. She flung him off her, blasting him down the corridor with a furious blaze of crimson energy, but- _BAMF_ -he escaped colliding with the far doors, teleporting behind her and raising his hands as she whirled around with a growl of frustration.

He said, "I'm not going to fight you."

Her burning light dimmed slightly. "I don't want to fight you, either, but it's a matter of survival, Kurt. For all mutants. My whole life I've worked with my father to create a place in this world for mutants, and where has it gotten us? Despised, ridiculed, banished. It's not enough, Kurt. It never was."

"What about your sister? Think about Lorna."

"I _am_ thinking about her." Her eyes softened, just slightly. "I'm thinking about you, too."

"I can think of myself, thank you."

This wasn't working. He thought that if he could talk to her he could convince her to leave, but Sinister's hold on her was too strong. Maybe if he could just get her far enough away from Sinister…

He never got the chance to find out, because a flare of bloodred light blazed in his eyes, striking him in the chest and knocking him out cold.


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

**KURT**

" _Autsch_ ," Kurt groaned, touching a hand to his throbbing head. Eyes blinking open, he realized he was in the med bay of the X mansion. He sat up and immediately found himself wrapped in the arms of Kitty Pryde.

"Kurt, you're awake!" she exclaimed with delight. "And we got Logan back!"

" _Austch_ ," he repeated as she squeezed him too hard. "Wait-Logan is here? How?"

"Sorry," she released him and took a step back. "Well, after you teleported the Scarlet Witch out of there, things really went to heck. Emma Frost laid Scott out flat, and when the others came blasting in we really had to cut our losses. Logan almost skewered Storm so Bobby froze him in a block of ice, which we brought with us here, and then Jean fixed his head. Not really sure how she did that, but he's right as rain now."

"Well, as good as I get," said Logan, appearing in the open doorway.

"Speak of the devil," said Kurt, the edge of his mouth lifting into a smile.

"Elf." Logan grinned. "Your girlfriend packs one heck of a punch."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"That's not what she said."

"What!" Kurt nearly fell off the med cot."What did she tell you?"

"Got ya," Logan chuckled, coming into the room and clapping Kurt on the back. "The elf has it bad. Put me down for steak at the wedding."

"Oh, leave him alone," said Kitty. "Kurt has a crush, that's all. I think it's cute."

"It's not a crush," insisted Kurt, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. "It's nothing."

It was nothing to _Wanda,_ at least. She proved that today. Whatever hold Sinister had over her…he wasn't controlling her. She was still herself, but her anger was ratcheted up to boiling point.

Perhaps that jewel on her forehead intensified negative emotions…

Or maybe she really was just like her father.

* * *

**WANDA**

She never let herself think too long about her father.

That was the rule, since she'd banished him from Genosha. His voice in her head was too loud if she let him linger in her mind, voicing all of her self-doubts.

And maybe she missed him a little.

She missed Lorna more than anyone, and tried not to think of how her sister was faring in Genosha. She wasn't ready to be a ruler, but she had Blink and Mystique…she would be alright, wouldn't she? Every time a niggling doubt came into her head, her anger rose up to drown it out.

But she still missed her home.

She missed giving orders instead of taking them.

She missed…

The others didn't like her. They had both once been X-Men, and though she had never fought either of them, and they were technically on the same side now, neither of them were ever very friendly-but then, neither was Wanda.

Apocalypse called them Archangel and the White Queen.

He called Wanda Sorceress.

For two weeks they worked together or apart, often dismantling MRD facilities or Sentinel factories on the orders of Apocalypse, leaving buildings as smoldering ashes. People got hurt, mutants liberated, but no one died.

Then they received new orders. To hit the MRD mutant holding cells.


	6. Chapter 6

**KURT**

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since they got Logan back.

Two weeks since Sinister turned Wanda.

Two weeks since Kurt fought her at the lab.

And they had done nothing.

At the end of the second week he couldn't stand it anymore. He confronted Logan.

"I want to talk to the professor."

Logan was in the control room, flicking through a number of recent, mutant-related news reports. He didn't even look up. "Chuck is a little busy right now, but I've already told you. The future hasn't changed. Apocalypse is still the head honcho and humanity is all but obliterated."

"Because we haven't gotten Wanda back."

Logan shrugged, turning away from the monitors. "That's part of it. I know you're itchin' to go after Sinister again but we have our hands full. Ororo is helping to keep things under control on Genosha, Kitty had a family emergency, Scott and Hank are helping Colossus with some sort of trouble in Russia. We just don't have enough man power."

"Then just send me in."

"You know I can't do that, Elf. The last thing I need is for Sinister to catch you and turn you into one of his headless horsemen. You can stay here and help teach the kid."

* * *

Babysitting.

Normally, Kurt wouldn't mind watching Tildie, but considering the circumstances he couldn't quite concentrate on helping her do her Hank-assigned homework out on the mansion's back lawn.

He loved kids-even though many found him frightening. He was always a little wary when introducing himself to new students, but Tildie was never scared of him. That wasn't surprising considering that she could turn into a three-hundred foot tall behemoth.

"What's this one?" she asked, sprawled on the vivid green grass, a pencil tucked behind one ear. "Fourteen divided by two is…eight?"

"Nein." Kurt shook his head. "I mean no. Try again Liebling."

Tildie took the pencil out from behind her ear and bit its eraser in thought. "Seven," she said finally, scribbling her answer on the page. "Math is hard."

"Ja." Kurt agreed. "I think that's enough homework for today. Why don't we go see if we can find something to eat?"

In the kitchen they found cold leftover pizza and a half pint of chocolate ice cream.

"Can I eat ice cream for lunch?" begged Tildie. "Please?"

"As long as you don't tell anyone, it can be our secret."

Tildie beamed, and they both sat on the counter while they ate lunch, the window over the sink pouring in the crisp new afternoon light. It was so perfect that it was almost easy to imagine that everything had gone back to the way it was before the explosion, and that the halls were full of students, and the world wasn't destined for an apocalypse.

Almost.

Tildie finished licking her spoon a moment before Kurt heard voices in the hallway, coming towards the kitchen. In an instant he had their dishes in the sudsy sink and the ice cream put away, teleporting Tildie to the kitchen table, her homework appearing in front of her almost as if by magic. By the time Logan and Rogue walked through the door Kurt and Tildie were hard at work on multiplication.

"School's over," said Logan, as Kurt winked at Tildie. "I need to borrow the elf. Rogue will stay here with you."

Out in the hallway Logan briefed Kurt on the mission as they walked towards the blackbird.

"The horsemen are attacking the Mardies' mutant holding facilities as we speak. We're going in to stop them." He turned to Kurt, serious. "This isn't a retrieval mission. We're going in to make sure Sinister doesn't get his hands on anymore mutants. Got it?"

"Got it."

* * *

**WANDA**

The mission was supposed to be simple.

The 'horsemen' as Apocalypse called them would break into the MRD's mutant holding facilities and break out all the mutants imprisoned there.

Easy, right?

Wrong.

Wanda stood in the midst of chaos, uniformed MRD agents lying at her feet, a wall collapsed into the long corridor lined with cells, severed wires spitting sparks through a haze of concrete dust.

The bars of the cells flickered and went down.

Mutants poured out into the corridor, and Wanda waved them towards the exits.

"We're looking for this one," said the White Queen, lightly touching Wanda's arm and putting an image in her head. A young Japanese child. "Find him."

The three horsemen fanned out, stalking through the mill of freed mutants. Many of them were frightened, taking this chance to run towards the exits. Many others set to wrecking the place, fires burning along the ground, the walls shaking with the impact of more forceful mutant abilities.

Wanda didn't stop them. They had a right to be angry.

"I found him," said Archangel, dragging a slight, dark-haired child out of one of the cells where he'd been hiding. "Let's go."

Wanda's gaze fixed on Archangel's hand clamped onto the kid's arm as he tried to pull away. His eyes were large and luminous with fright.

"Let him go," she said, with all the command of her father. "He doesn't want you to touch him."

" _He_ is the reason we're here."

"I thought we were here to rescue mutants, not abduct them."

"Sinister wants this one."

"Why?" But she already knew why. It was there, buried in the back of her mind, blocked by the soothing voice of a telepath.

Angel was speaking but she couldn't hear him. The world around her blurred, a spike of pain burrowing into her skull as she fought to remember. There was something there, just out of reach.

_Oh, you are a head-strong one. Stubborn as tempered steel._

The voice was a memory of someone standing over her, metal cold against her skin, restraining her as she tried to defy the power burning through her mind.

"Sorceress." The cold voice of the White Queen cut through her. "Snap out of it."

Sinister wanted this child for his experiments. He would strap him to a table and steal his DNA. Or worse.

"No." Wanda shook her head. "This is a _child_."

It was at that moment that the ceiling caved in, a sleek black plane scraping and shrieking to a halt half-way inside the building. Wanda could just make out a snatch of someone growling "What happened, Forge?" and the returning "I got excited…" before the ramp came down and Wolverine, Iceman, and Nightcrawler appeared.

No. Not Nightcrawler. _Kurt._

"Hold them off," Archangel ordered. "I'm taking the kid."

Angel took off, hauling the kid with him, and Wanda watched as Kurt teleported after them. Iceman was only a moment behind, as Wolverine engaged the White Queen.

Wanda took off after Archangel, reaching him as the two X-Men brought him and the kid to the ground. One of Archangel's wings crumpled, and something in his arm snapped.

"Take the kid," he told Wanda, his teeth gritted in pain. "I'll catch up later." He thrust the kid at her and she took his hand, so small in her own.

"It will be alright," she said. "I promise."

She didn't mean to lie. It just seemed natural to comfort a frightened child.

A blast of ice shot towards her and she blocked it with a shield of crimson energy, a breath of cold air blowing her hair back.

She raised her hands to block further attacks but Kurt shouted "Hold your fire, you could hit the child."

Then he was right there, just a step away.

It made her heart beat faster. She wished that it was anyone but him. Anyone who didn't know her so well.

"Don't come any closer," she warned. "Take another step and I'll have to hurt you."

Kurt shook his head. His yellow eyes were wide and fervent, the line of his mouth set with determination. "You won't. You know this is wrong."

"This is the right thing to do. The future belongs to mutants, but we have to fight for it."

"I know the future, Wanda, and it doesn't belong to mutants. It belongs to Apocalypse. Just let him go."

The gem on her forehead glowed brighter.

This _was_ right, wasn't it? This would help to build a future where mutants wouldn't have to live in fear. This was bigger than one child's freedom, wasn't it?

She let him go.

Stumbled back a step as Kurt took the child's hand and they both vanished.

That was when the pain in her skull started.


	7. Chapter 7

**WANDA**

The X-Men were gone and Wanda's head felt like it was breaking into pieces; it felt the way stained glass looks when you take a sledge hammer to it. Sharp and glittery as a fever dream.

"What did you do?" asked the White Queen, stalking through the ruin of the mutant holding cells to stand at Wanda's side. She didn't look happy. "You let them take him."

"Yes," Wanda raised her chin, which did nothing to help her headache. "I wasn't about to abduct a child."

Archangel dragged himself out of the rubble and staggered over, holding his broken arm. "She will answer to Apocalypse. Let's go, the authorities will arrive any minute."

Archangel and the White Queen began picking their way through the wrecked building, but Wanda didn't move. After a minute they turned to look back at her, expressionless but judgemental.

"I…" Wanda pressed a hand to her temple. The jewel on her forehead glowed as hot as a lit match. "I'm not coming. I'm done."

Archangel shared a glance with the White Queen. "Take care of this, would you?"

The White Queen raised her fingertips to her temples, and Wanda felt the force of her telepathy inside her mind. But it was nothing compared to the blinding fury of Sinister's jewel.

White Queen frowned. "That's odd. She seems to be fighting me." She looked at Wanda. "You're fighting me."

Wanda raised her shaking hands, red sparking at her fingertips. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will."

"Forget about her," said Archangel, turning away. "I can't even fly. We're going to have to call in an evac. They can clean this up."

The White Queen cast one more look back at Wanda before the two of them disappeared into the smoke and shadows, leaving Wanda standing alone amid the ruins.

Her head pulsed with pain, growing stronger every moment.

She needed help. Could she call Lorna in Genosha? Where would she find the technology? She certainly couldn't get on a boat and _sail_ back. She couldn't even go to her father, because she didn't know where he was. She hadn't seen either him or Pietro in months.

That left only one option: she had to go to the X-Men.

* * *

**KURT**

"Elf!" Logan's bellow echoed through the whole mansion, loud enough for Kurt to hear it all the way in his room on the second floor. " **ELF!** "

 _BAMF._ Kurt found Logan standing in the foyer. "I'm here, you needn't be so loud…" he trailed off.

Wanda stood in the open doorway of the mansion, arms folded around herself, shaking so hard she could barely stay on her feet. The jewel on her forehead shone with an almost blinding intensity, but it was cracked and bleeding fractures of darker light.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, and collapsed into his arms.

Kurt stood stricken for a moment, supporting her weight. His eyes were wide and round when he asked, "Logan? What…what do I do?"

"Take her to the med bay," Logan said. "I'll get Jean and the Doc."

"Right." Kurt shook his head to clear it, then- _BAMF_ -they were in the med bay, and he settled her onto the cot. Her skin was flushed, burning hot. That jewel pulsing with a frantic, violent light.

A minute later Hank and Jean arrived and ushered him out of the room.

He protested, "What are you going to do? What's wrong with her-"

Hank reassured him, "I'm going to remove the jewel, and Jean is going to remove the mental blocks put there by Sinister's telepaths. Just like we did to Logan. But she needs to be able to concentrate, and she can't focus with you hovering."

The door closed in his face.

So he waited outside the med bay, pacing for what felt like hours. Maybe it _was_ hours. Had it taken this long to fix Logan?

Finally Jean appeared, her brow slightly creased from so long using her powers. Kurt was immediately alert, his mouth opening to question her, but she held up a hand to stall him.

"She's going to be alright, Kurt." Jean smiled faintly. "You don't have to worry; she's perfectly stable now. I removed the jewel, and Sinister's power over her. She was a lot deeper under his spell than Logan was, which was why it made her so sick when she tried to resist it."

Hank held the door to the med bay open. "You can come in now, if you'd like. And ahh, Jean, I think Logan wanted a word with us about ahh, Sinister."

"What? Oh! Logan did want a word. With us. About Sinister. Bye Kurt."

They left and Kurt softly opened the door to the med bay. He had half expected her to be awake, but she was still unconscious, and a stab of worry hit him. If she was still unconscious, how could they know she was alright? Hank said the jewel was what made her sick, so if it was gone, shouldn't she be awake?

He pulled a stool over to the med cot and sat down. He wanted to reach out and touch her, just to be certain she was really there. He wanted her to wake up. He wanted to talk to her.

But all he could do was wait.


	8. Chapter 8

**WANDA**

When her eyes first blinked open she thought she was back in Sinister's labs. Dread twisted knots into her stomach before she turned her head and found a familiar blue shape slumped over beside her, his head resting on the edge of the med cot, gently slumbering. Her sense of danger eased; she was safe here.

She shifted a little to give Kurt more room, propping herself up on an elbow and letting her gaze linger on him in a way she wouldn't have if he'd been awake. He slept with his head pillowed on his folded arms, faintly snoring, and he looked so tired she couldn't wake him.

It had been so long since she was this close to him, she'd forgotten how he smelled faintly of sulfur, the precise shape of his folded hands, the way he looked thoughtful even in sleep. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him until he was there beside her again.

She tried to resist the urge to reach out and touch him, brush her fingers through the soft, dark strands of his hair, but the temptation was too much.

The moment her fingers stirred his hair he startled awake. She hastily withdrew her hand, but it was too late. His eyes fixed on her hand, the corners of his mouth twitching. She blushed.

"Wanda." He straightened. "You're awake."

Maybe she should just pretend that never happened. She pulled herself into a proper sitting position, legs dangling off the edge of the cot, the dark blue and purple folds of her cape pooling around her. Really, this outfit was ridiculous; blue and purple were _not_ her colors.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"Since yesterday. All night."

"And you've been sitting her for…"

"All night."

He'd waited all night, after a mission, for…her. That thought made it harder to look at him, so she cast her gaze around the room. It was crisp, all clean white lines and vague medical equipment and polished glass. Her headache was all but gone, and she felt completely fine, though still a bit tired-odd, considering that she'd just woken up, but being unconscious and sleeping aren't quite the same thing.

The silence stretched out, not uncomfortable but not easy, either. Things between them had never been simple, and there was so much she wanted to say to him that she found it difficult to say anything.

She found herself looking at him again, saying, "You know, this reminds me of when you were sick, before…before the cells. How the tables have turned."

He smiled at that-actually _smiled_ , as if it was a fond memory instead of a dreadful crime. "You took care of me."

She clenched her hands into the folds of her stupid cape until her knuckles turned white. She couldn't lie to him. She couldn't let him think she really took care of him. "You were drugged."

He blinked, taken aback. "I know. I almost thought I imagined it. Your father really doesn't know how to hold back."

"My father didn't give the order, Kurt." She looked away. "I did."

He withdrew a little, startled. "What? Why?"

"I didn't know what else to do. My father was going to throw you in the cells, and you were so sick I thought…" She tried to blink away sudden tears but they spilled over. _I thought you might die._ "And I feel so guilty about it. I just wanted the chance to tell you how sorry I am."

"Wanda…" He tilted her chin up so they were eye-to-eye, brushing away a tear with his knuckles. "I forgive you."

She shook her head viciously, shoving his hand away. "You can't just forgive me. I let Sinister and Apocalypse control me. I fought you and the X-Men. I almost helped kidnap a child." Her voice broke. "None of that is forgivable."

"You're too hard on yourself. Sinister controlled _Wolverine_ , and believe me, he never does anything he doesn't want to unless you force him to."

"It wasn't all Sinister, Kurt. I know you saw it; maybe he made me angrier, and maybe he got inside my head, but he didn't force me to do anything. I keep making mistakes, and I don't want you to always have to forgive me."

She'd turned her face away and he gently turned it back, fingertips lightly brushing her chin. "I don't think this is about me, Wanda. I think you need to forgive yourself."

She raised her lashes to look him in the eyes and noticed suddenly how very close they were. Nearly close enough to kiss.

"Wanda…" his breath brushed her cheek.

A dry voice cut through the room. "Oh so _he_ can touch you. I see how it is."

They startled, jerked apart, and turned to find Logan regarding them with mild amusement.

"Kitty says that Wendy here might want to get cleaned up or something. She seemed pretty adamant that I send you up." He nodded to Wanda. "And I don't want know know what she'll do if I don't."

Kurt's eyebrows raised. "Kitty's back?"

"Yeah, she just got in. She's upstairs with the kids right now."

Now Wanda's eyebrows went up. "Kids?"

Wolverine swaggered around the room. "Tildie and Shiro, the kid from the Mardie pens. Tildie adopted him."

"Oh." Guilt gnawed into Wanda. "I'm glad he's alright."

"He's fine. Heck, the kid was worried about _you_. You ought to go upstairs and say hey." He looked at Kurt. "Elf, you should get some r&r, too, and that's an order."

* * *

"It's not exactly fit for a princess," said Kitty, sitting cross-legged in front of her dresser, pulling a sweater from a drawer without opening it, "but I think it'll do."

"Of course," said Wanda, feeling formal and awkward but trying hard to look at ease in a plush pink chair. The room was strewn with clothing, cluttered with stuffed animals and makeup and gear, Tildie and Shiro sprawled on the bed with a bag of chips and a set of playing cards. It was all…so painfully normal, in a way her childhood had never been. Not after her father came for her, and certainly not before.

"The shower's down the hall to the left," Kitty continued, looking brightly up at Wanda. "It's always nice to have more girls around, right Tilds? The macho guy stuff can get exhausting, especially since Ororo is in Genosha. And they're so competitive! I mean, I'm competitive too-"

"Wait," Wanda interrupted her, "Storm is in Genosha?"

"Didn't Kurt tell you? She's helping your sister keep everything under control over there, since she basically ruled Africa."

"Can I contact my sister?"

"Of course, we can use the war room."

* * *

Ten minutes later Lorna's familiar face flickered onto the war room's viewing screen.

Wanda's heart leaped. "Lorna!"

"Wanda!" The look of relief on Lorna's face was gut-wrenching, her hands clasped over her startled mouth. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Wanda, standing in the war room of the X mansion, wishing there wasn't a screen and a hundred miles between her and her sister. "How are you holding up?"

Lorna's hands were still fluttering over her lips, tears shining in her eyes. They struck Wanda like a physical blow; she and Lorna had always been close, but they still fought like sisters did. She hadn't realized her disappearance would effect Lorna like this.

"We're fine here," Lorna said. "Are you coming home? Do you want me to send Blink for you? No-I'll come too. We'll be right there."

"Wait-" Lorna seemed ready to rush off, and as much as Wanda wanted to see her sister again, she wasn't ready to leave quite yet. "There's something I need to take care of first."

* * *

**KURT**

Kurt didn't _mean_ to ignore Logan's orders, but even as exhausted as he was, he knew Wanda would be on her way back to Genosha soon and he didn't want to miss her. He wouldn't _admit_ that he didn't want to miss her…but still.

So he tidied himself up, ran a comb through his hair, and went to find a snack. Wanda was probably hungry-and he was starving. The kitchen pantry was well stocked for once, though he'd seen Tildie pilfering the chips and pudding earlier. The Liebling had a sweet tooth.

He managed to scrounge up a box of chocolate chip cookies (Hank tried to hide them on the top shelf, but Kurt was an acrobat, after all) and went back to the common room to eat them while he waited.

And waited.

And waited…

Then suddenly she was there, standing in the doorway dressed in borrowed clothes, her thick waves of mahogany hair curled and damp from a shower. Even wearing bluejeans she held herself like a queen, like the whole world rested on her shoulders and she was strong enough to hold it.

For a moment he couldn't speak.

Something choked him-

The impossibility of Wanda here in the X mansion, safe and sound. Alive. The relief of it was a shock. A terrible, breath-taking realization.

He was in love with her.

He blinked. Swallowed down his feelings. Told himself to act natural.

"Kitty let you borrow one of her sweaters, I see." It came out slightly hoarse, but he made himself smile. "That is one of my favorites."

"Oh." Wanda glanced down, tugging at the hem of an over-sized red knit sweater. Kitty's grandmother knitted them; she had, in fact, once knitted sweaters for the whole team, but Kitty's were always the best. That's why he stole them. "I didn't know you two were…"

His smiled disappeared. "We're not. We're family…" He awkwardly tried to make it better, scratching the back of his head with one three-fingered hand. "Und I am just…a scoundrel."

Her eyes pierced him, too blue and too bright, like rain-washed skies. That perfect red mouth turned up. "You, Kurt Wagner, are the furthest thing from a scoundrel that I have ever met."

This time his smile was genuine and impish. "Then you should get to know me better."

"I'd like-" she broke off into a yawn, swaying slightly on her feet- "that."

Kurt's brow instantly knit in concern. "You should get some rest."

She shook her head but sank onto the other side of the couch, folding her legs under her. "I talked to Lorna. She and Blink are coming to get me, there are just a few things they need to take care of first. I want to be awake when they arrive."

"I'm sure you must be eager to get back to Genosha."

"I'm eager to see Lorna again, and of course I have duties to return to. Cities don't run themselves, you know. But…" she trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. He wished he knew what she was thinking. "No, I'm not eager to get back to Genosha."

"You could stay here." He tried not to look too hopeful.

She shook her head. "You know I have to return. And as much as I like it here, I must admit that I feel rather out of my element. It's not like it is back on Genosha….It's a family."

He drew a little closer, taking her hand. "You're a part of this family too, now. Even Logan seems to like you."

"He tolerates me," she said, trailing her gaze around the room. They were alone again, but only for who knows how long? They never had the time to spend together, there was always some interruption, some disaster, or Wolverine lurking in the doorway. Had he been about to kiss her, before? Had she been about to kiss him? He wasn't sure.

She was looking at him again, a slight, wistful smile touching her lips. Her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. "How are you, Kurt?"

"How am _I?_ I'm not the one who was abducted and brainwashed."

"It's just that I haven't seen you since everything that happened last year. I just…wanted to know that you're alright."

He put an arm around her and pulled her closer, and after a breath of hesitation she settled against him. He leaned his cheek against her damp hair. "I have never been better."

When Blink and Lorna arrived an hour later they found Kurt and Wanda fast asleep on the couch, his arms around her and her head on his shoulder. Someone had draped a blanket over them and they looked utterly blissful.

"Better not wake 'em just yet," said Logan, appearing in the doorway to the kitchen with a steaming mug in hand. He looked smug. "Do you guys want some coffee? Do you drink that sort of thing over in paradise or is it all rainbows 'n glitter 'n crap like that?"


	9. Chapter 9

**WANDA**

For the first time in a long time Wanda woke up feeling…like herself. For a moment she let herself enjoy the warmth of Kurt beside her, and the feeling of not being alone for once. She half hoped he would wake up, and half dreaded it. It would be so much harder to say goodbye if he was awake.

So she disentangled herself from his arms and gingerly removed herself from the couch, glancing out the window to find that it was late morning, light streaming in through the pristine glass. It had been early morning when she woke up the first time, she thought, before dawn. Had Lorna and Blink arrived while she slept? Had they found her wrapped in the arms of an X-Man?

She would never hear the end of it.

She followed the chatter and the noise of clattering dishes down the hallway to the kitchen, where she found Blink leaning against the wall across from the open doorway.

She glanced up when Wanda appeared, looking her over as if checking to make sure she wasn't injured. A slight smirk tugged at her mouth. "You've made yourself at home here." One finely arched eyebrow raised. " _Quite_ at home."

Wanda opened her mouth to reprimand her guard for being too forward or possibly deny her words-she hadn't yet decided-but she never got the chance.

"Wanda?" Lorna's head poked out of the kitchen, her face lighting up when she saw that it _was_ in fact Wanda. "Wanda!" She flung her arms around her older sister's neck, and Wanda squeezed her back.

"I missed you," Wanda whispered into Lorna's hair. "And I'm sorry I didn't come home sooner."

"It's okay," said Lorna brightly, though she was a little misty eyed. "I called Kurt and all my new friends helped me find you. And Ororo even came to stay at the palace." She dragged Wanda into the kitchen, where Ororo, Jean, and Kitty were all making breakfast and drinking coffee.

"We're all going shopping some time," Lorna plopped down into a chair beside Ororo. "You're invited, too, of course. And you can't say I can't go because I don't have any other friends off the island…"

Lorna batted her big doe eyes up at Wanda and she just had to relent. "Of course you can go shopping, you just can't stay out late."

Lorna clapped her hands together with delight. Ororo nodded once, knowingly, at Wanda. "I can assure you we will keep her perfectly safe."

"But not today," said Lorna, "I have some things to show you, Wanda. Are you ready to go home?"

Wanda looked around the cozy little kitchen, the kind X-Men who had cared for her when she'd done nothing to deserve it, and Kurt…but her gaze finally landed on Lorna. Her little sister needed her, and so did her people. She nodded. "Yes, let's go home."

* * *

**KURT**

She was gone.

He knew it before he opened his eyes and found the spot beside him empty, and he knew she'd gone a lot further than the next room.

She'd left, and she hadn't even said goodbye.

He sat up and stretched, yawning hugely and knocking the box of cookies he'd pilfered and never eaten off the coffee table.

Cookies for breakfast…?

Well, why not?

He was still feeling poorly about Wanda leaving, so he'd devoured half the box by the time Bobby appeared in the doorway, hair tousled and a muzzy look on his face. He yawned and mumbled something unintelligible to Kurt, which may or may not have been about Logan.

"Logan wants to speak with me?" guessed Kurt.

"Mrph," Bobby nodded and stumbled towards the kitchen. That kid needed coffee, and lots of it.

Kurt found Logan in his room, staring pensively out the window.

"You were looking for me?"

Logan turned away from the window. "Yeah, the Professor wants to talk to you."

"Has the future changed, since we got Wanda back?"

"I think you should let the Professor take that one."

The walked down to the coma room, which was always eerily silent, only the faint but steady sounds of the Professor's breathing vibrating the air.

"Chuck?" asked Logan. "You around?"

After a heartbeat of silence Kurt felt the telltale tingle of Xavier's presence, heard the whisper of his voice before everything faded to whitespace. Then they were standing with the Professor-in his mind? In the void? Kurt wasn't entirely sure about the particular logistics of it.

"Logan, Kurt," Charles said warmly. "Two people I'm always delighted to see, especially under favorable circumstances."

Kurt perked up. "Has the future changed? Logan said you wanted to speak with me, but what about the others-"

Charles raised a hand to stall his excitement. "The future has indeed changed, but not in the way you think. Apocalypse still rules, but something I…lost has been regained. You see, when Sinister abducted Logan and the Scarlet Witch in your time, one of my future X-Men disappeared. She wasn't just gone; she'd never existed at all. No one but I remembered her, and it wasn't until Logan and Wanda were recovered that she reappeared in the timeline."

"I'm glad you got your friend back," said Kurt, clearly perplexed. "But I don't understand what this has to do with me."

Charles smiled, a little sadly. "Well you see Kurt, we call my friend Nocturne, but her real name is Talia Josephine Wagner…your daughter."

To Kurt's astonishment a slight, blue-skinned and yellow-eyed teenager stepped out from behind the Professor, one hand raised in a half wave. She showed her pointed teeth in a smile. "Heya dad."


	10. Chapter 10

**KURT**

"I have a…daughter? But-" he didn't know what else to say, he didn't even know what he was feeling. Delight. Pride. Concern. Shock and surprise, most of all.

He didn't need to ask who her mother was; he could see Wanda in her, that precise slope of her cheekbones, the shape of her mouth, the proud set of her shoulders.

His mouth was hanging open. He knew it, but he couldn't seem to close it.

Charles explained, "I found Talia on one of my missions in the wasteland-or rather, she found me, I suppose. She saved my life."

The girl- _his daughter_ -Talia rolled her eyes. "You say that like I don't save your life _all the time_."

Charles smiled indulgently. "It wasn't until after she joined my future X-Men that I came to know her heritage. It was a shock to realize she was the progeny of one of my very own X-Men, but not as great as my shock when she vanished and I found that no one but I remembered her."

"Because Sinister abducted Wanda."

The Professor nodded. "He altered the future."

Talia stepped forward, yellow eyes so bright they glowed. "Yeah, you and mom-"

She cut off abruptly as Logan and Kurt were forcibly ejected from the white void, finding themselves suddenly and sickeningly back in the coma chamber.

"Logan, what happened?" asked Kurt, panic creeping into his voice. "Are they alright-is she-"

"I'm sure they're fine. Sometimes they lose the connection to Cerebro. I'll check in again later just to make sure everything's cool."

Kurt stood stricken, still trying to process everything and having a hard time with it. He almost doubted his own sanity for a moment. All of this…seemed impossible. It was too much.

Logan wasn't suffering from the same sort of shock; he clapped Kurt on the back. "You and Wendy with a kid, who would've guessed it."

Kurt blinked at him as he came to a sudden realization. "You knew! This whole time you knew, and you didn't tell me?"

Logan shrugged. "Chuck didn't think it was a good idea to tell you your future kid vanished from existence because your girlfriend got abducted. It's kinda a lot to process."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Not _yet_." Logan winked. He was enjoying this a little too much.

"What am I going to do? I have to tell her."

"I dunno if that's a good idea. Usually people don't drop the 'we have a kid' thing until after, you know. You haven't even puckered up yet."

Kurt let out a huff of good-natured annoyance. " _Vhy_ do you even know that, Logan? Don't you have your own romantic entanglements to worry about?"

"None are as fun as this."

Kurt made a frustrated noise and turned away, gripping the ends of his hair. He didn't know what to do, but he knew one thing: he couldn't keep this secret from Wanda.

* * *

**WANDA**

"We're going to set up a stage here, with lights and flowers over there…"

Wanda strode behind Lorna as her younger sister minced around the vast main fountain square of Genosha, animatedly describing the decorations that mutants were already beginning to put up for the rebuilding festival. Lorna had postponed it after Wanda's abduction-she, Blink, and some of the others had also covered for Wanda to avoid mass panic in the city.

They had been fine without her for over two weeks. Did they really need her here? For a single moment she wondered what would have happened if she'd accepted Kurt's offer. If she'd said _Of course, of course, of course I want to stay._

But that was impossible. Just as it was impossible for her to ask him to leave the X-Men, she knew she would never leave Genosha or her people to live on the mainland.

"Wanda? Are you listening?" A flare of teenage annoyance showed through Lorna's good spirits. "You've been distracted all day."

"I'm sorry," said Wanda, resolving herself to put Kurt from her mind and focus on Lorna and the festival. This was what they had built, and it was marvelous. She should take the time to appreciate it before she figured out the next step.

Lorna shrugged, her expression brightening like the sun when it breaks through the clouds. Her mood-swings had been more erratic lately and it made Wanda worry for her.

"That's alright," said Lorna, smiling mischievously, "you have a lot to think about, like _Kurt Wagner_."

Well, so much for not thinking of Kurt.

Lorna read the expression on Wanda's face wrong, and clapped her hands together. "Did you invite him to the festival? Is he coming? Can I plan your wedding?"

Wanda almost choked. "Lorna please, no one is getting married. I didn't even invite him to the festival; I think I've taken up quite enough of the X-Men's time already."

Lorna pouted, "But he could have brought some of his cute friends-"

"You are _not_ dating an X-Man."

"Why not? You are!" At Lorna's outburst a nearby lamppost crumpled; Wanda felt the wave of magnetic power pulling at the pieces of metal on her clothing. "I just want to have a real life like you!"

"Lorna please," Wanda held up her hands, "are you feeling alright? If-if it makes you happy I'll invite all of the X-Men the the festival, okay? Just…try to calm down."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

**KURT**

Stepping off the blackbird and onto the dazzling streets of Genosha felt like stepping into an entirely new world. Every building was decorated with lights and streamers of color, pennants hanging over the streets. A brilliant display of mutant powers illuminated the skyline, splashes and explosions of red and gold sending showers of sparks through the air.

"This place really cleans up nice," said Kitty, spinning in a circle, her baby blue dress swirling around her ankles. Everyone was dressed up in suits or dresses of various fashions, except Wolverine, who said he wasn't "feeling fussy".

"I guess this is what it looks like when mutants are free to use their abilities," said Scott, holding Jean's hand.

She smiled up at him. "It's beautiful, and everyone here is so happy. I can feel it."

"These buildings really are remarkable," added Hank, marveling at the elegant, clearly mutant-constructed architecture.

"Yeah," Bobby gawked, "they make the mansion look like a dump."

"Don't say that!" Kitty punched Bobby in the arm. She looked apologetically at Kurt. "Not that it isn't nice and all, Kurt."

Kurt rolled his eyes. The mansion was basically a gossip mill, and it took about ten seconds for everyone to decide that he and Wanda were an item, though at least not everyone knew that they had a kid in the future.

"I helped set this up," said Ororo, looking stunning in a long elegant dress-and a little proud, too. "There's going to be a concert at eight, and I think we should all go."

"I don't think that's going to happen," said Forge as the X-Men scattered, each drawn in different directions. Logan caught sight of Mystique. Rogue stopped to watch a man in a long brown duster do card tricks. Tildie and Shiro wanted cotton candy.

"I will go to the concert with you, Ororo," said Hank, offering her his arm. "Some of us appreciate the arts."

"What about you, Kurt?" Ororo asked, but there was a knowing look in her eyes. "Do you want to see the concert?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to find Wanda."

He teleported away before anyone could remind him that he shouldn't tell Wanda that they had a daughter-that they _would_ have a daughter. How could he keep that to himself? How would she ever trust him if she found out he knew and didn't tell her?

How could he tell her and not lose her? It would sound insane if he just told her _We have a daughter in the apocalyptic future, I know because the Professor told me from his coma_. It would make any woman walk away and not look back.

He found her in the palace gardens, which had been bedecked for the festival, an orchestral band set up in the big courtyard, strains of ethereal music vibrating in the air, ribbons of red and blue light weaving among the rose hedges, strumming to the beat like an acoustic guitar. Mutants of all kinds wandered the ornamented paths in laughing groups or couples. He scanned them all from the shadows, clinging to a lamppost, eyes always lingering on the strolling pairs. She'd never said she had someone, and she'd certainly lead him to _believe_ that she didn't…then he saw her, standing in the middle of a cluster of mutants, the radiant center of attention.

Wanda looked enchanting.

She wore a long, sleeveless scarlet gown that swept behind her in a regal train trimmed in gold, her hair loose around her bare shoulders, held back only by her crown.

He watched her for a few minutes, until the group broke apart, leaving her alone. Only then did he appear in front of her in a cloud of brimstone.

Her eyes lit up. "You came."

"I couldn't stay away."

"And the X-Men?"

"Having the time of their lives."

They were interrupted as more mutants approached, all of them eager and vying for the attentions of their Scarlet Witch. She graciously waved them off, keeping her focus on Kurt.

"Walk with me," she said, and he offered her his arm. Together they strolled down an empty path lined with tall hedges dripping red rose blossoms, the pavers flooded with petals.

"Lorna grew these for me," said Wanda fondly, "from seedlings, if you can believe it."

He looked suitably impressed. "Are there roses here year round?"

Wanda trailed her hand over the satin-soft petals of a giant tea rose, stroking its sharp thorns. "It's one of the benefits of having mutant gardeners. And of course Lorna is out here every day; they are her passion."

A crackling display of fireworks went off overhead, but he was looking at her. "And what is your passion?"

* * *

**WANDA**

His yellow eyes glowed with genuine interest, though they both already knew her passion-her life-was Genosha. She had a feeling that he was looking for something else…something more personal.

"I write."

His expression of mild surprise was mirrored on her face; she hadn't expected to tell him that. She didn't tell anyone about her writing.

"About mutants," she clarified, "I'm working on a sort of memoir. It's nothing really, it's just that while we're striving to create a place for homo-superior art and literature here, most of the books in our libraries were written by humans, and I think…I think everyone's story deserves to be heard."

She pushed her hair back, feeling suddenly raw and naked and shy; she wasn't sure what he would think of her. Did she sound pretentious? Well, she was admittedly a little pretentious. It was an occupational hazard.

"I think it's marvelous," he said with genuine enthusiasm, his yellow eyes lit up and glowing in the twilight. "I would like to read it, when you've finished."

Wanda blinked and realized she was beaming. She hadn't known how much she'd wanted him to say that, and now it filled her with more warmth than a fizzing bottle of champagne.

Whatever this was…it was perfect. The festival lights sparkling. The scent of blooming roses heady in the air. The way he looked at her with absolute attention. They had stopped walking at some point, beneath an arbor dripping with crimson flowers, and she found herself leaning in, suddenly very close.

She was going to kiss him, consequences be damned.

But then his expression changed, his eyes darkening, gaze shifting away, and the moment broke.

His voice was very soft, imploring. "You left without saying goodbye."

It wasn't an accusation; really, it was more of a question. _Why_ had she left without saying goodbye? Her pulse pounded a little faster as she realized the answer: she loved him. She had loved him since that first day, when he arrived on Genosha, and she loved him even more now, in the starlight, after everything they had been through.

She blinked at him, fumbling for a safe answer and coming up with nothing. "I didn't want to wake you," she said finally, and it sounded as flat to her ears as she could tell it did to his.

He looked away. "Back at the X mansion, I didn't mean to be so forward. I thought…" he sighed. There was a crease between his brows that she longed to smooth out. "I was wrong."

He'd thought what? That she cared about him? That this relationship was moving towards something _more_? Even after everything she'd done, he still wanted this?

Her voice was soft. "You weren't wrong."

"What?" He asked, but she knew he'd heard her just fine.

"Kurt, you weren't wrong." Everything had seemed so simple when they first met, that day they went to the concert. Then everything became complicated. "I'm sorry I left, I just…" she started walking again, trying to buy herself more time to think. She wasn't even sure what she should say. "I didn't want to have to say goodbye."

They lapsed into silence for a few moments, crossing from the garden into a grand metal arcade with thick pillars and a roof dripping with ivy.

Wanda didn't like his silence; what had she done wrong? She'd misread him. She didn't know how she'd misread him, but it seemed the only answer to this pensive silence.

"Kurt," she shivered as a sea breeze swept down the arcade, sending goosebumps across her bare shoulders. "Say something."

His yellow eyes went from her face to her bare shoulders. "Are you cold?"

She blinked. "Yes."

She expected him to offer her his jacket but instead he tugged her into the shadow cast by one of the massive steel pillars and took her face in his hands and kissed her.

It was so unexpected that it took her a moment to kiss him back. His kiss was careful, cautious, questioning; hers was the passionate answer. Something inside her came alight, burning with the sensation of teeth and tongue and the scruff of his fur against her cheek and her heart beating-

He pulled back a little to study her face; she noticed that crease hadn't gone away. "Warmer now?"

She couldn't quite catch her breath so her answer was almost a gasp. " _Yes._ "

Wanda pulled him back for another kiss and this time he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him, nearly sweeping her off of her feet. When they finally parted he didn't let her go, just tucked his face into the side of her neck and sighed. His breath stirred her hair. " _Mien Liebe._ "

The sounds of the festival drifted over them, flashes of colored light breaking the darkness. The breeze carried the sounds of music and laughter.

"We're going to make this work." Wanda said. It was almost a question. "We can make this work."

He hesitated. "Wanda…" His eyes were very serious, crinkled at the edges. "I need to speak with you, alone."

"We're alone right now."

"Actually…" He fidgeted nervously, tugging at the cuffs of his suit jacket. "I want you to come back to the institute with me."

Her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Trying to take me home with you, Mister Wagner? How forward."

* * *

It was simple enough to find Blink and get her to send them to the Xavier Institute; Wanda didn't realize until they were standing in the foyer of the grand house that she'd neglected to secure a way home, but then, maybe she hadn't ever intended to go back tonight.

The mansion was all but empty, everyone at the festival on Genosha. Its dark rooms and vacant, echoing halls were eerie, and with a shiver Wanda thought that now would be the perfect time for someone to attack the mansion, while it was undefended.

"Cold still?" This time Kurt shrugged off his suit coat and draped it across her shoulders, the movement agitated and almost jerky. He was nervous. "Do you want a drink? I have no idea what we have."

"That would be lovely," she replied, because it seemed like _he_ could use a drink.

They went into the kitchen and he flicked on a dim overhead light, rummaging around in the fridge and pantry while making increasingly dissatisfied noises.

"It looks like all we have is tea, unless you prefer root beer," he said apologetically. "Or water."

"Tea is fine."

He filled a large copper kettle with water and set it on the stove, the burner clicking as he turned a dial. He continued to fuss with the kettle and several tins of loose tea for much longer than was necessary, leaving Wanda standing in the middle of the kitchen staring at him.

"Are you going to tell me why I'm here? Is something wrong?"

"Nien." She watched the tense line of his shoulders hunch. "Nothing is wrong."

"Then you're doing a poor job of seducing me."

His head jerked up, the pointed tips of his fuzzy ears turning dark purple. "I'm not-" he stammered, "I'm not trying to seduce you."

"Then what _are_ you doing? You brought me here to make tea and sit in silence?"

He turned around, his expression stark and raw; hopeful and hopeless. "I'm having second thoughts."

"About us?"

"No! Never-" he moved across the kitchen and sank into a chair. "It's complicated."

She took a step towards him. "Then explain it to me."

He put his head in his hands. "I want to be honest with you, Wanda, I just don't know how."

She knelt on the floor beside him, the long scarlet ripples of her dress fanning out around her, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

He lifted his head, yellow eyes glowing with some deep but nameless emotion. "I think it would be better if I showed you."

* * *

The doors to the coma chamber slid open with the sigh of well-oiled machinery. Wanda had never been here, of course, though her father had told her of Professor Xavier's communications from the future.

"Professor?" Kurt called out softly. "Are you there?"

Wanda gasped as the room faded to utter whiteness and she found herself facing the illustrious Professor X himself.

"Miss Maximoff," Xavier said graciously, "you look just like your-" he hesitated for a fraction of a second- "father."

"Thank you," she said, still a little confused by what was happening.

Xavier looked to Kurt. "I know why you're here but I'm not sure it's a good idea."

"Neither am I." Kurt moved to Wanda's side and took her hand. "But it's only right. Is she there? Can we see her?"

Wanda still felt like she was missing something. "See who? What are you talking about?"

He turned her towards him, taking both of her hands in his. "I know it's a lot but I couldn't keep this from you. I don't want there to be secrets between us."

He then explained essentially what Xavier had explained to him in their previous meeting, about how his friend vanished from existence when Wanda was abducted. She followed the story with a crease between her brows, but the smallest inkling of an idea sparked in the back of her mind. There was only one reason she could think of that would make someone cease to exist if her timeline changed.

A reason that would explain Kurt's peculiar behavior tonight.

So when a new person stepped into the white void, slender and blue-skinned, yellow eyes lighting up as she flung her arms around Wanda, she knew exactly what was coming.

"Mom!"

The vibrant emotion in the girl's voice tugged at Wanda, and she hugged TJ fiercely back. The reality of this situation was still sinking in, but it wasn't an uncomfortable sensation, and she found herself smiling. Whatever happened to her with Sinister and Apocalypse, the terrible things they had done to her...it was nothing compared to this bright moment of hope that things could work out so well that she and Kurt had a daughter in the future. A future that she would help the X-Men make brighter.

* * *

**KURT**

It seemed like a miracle.

Here they were together, a family he'd never imagine having, and Wanda looked...happy.

He knew this would be a shock, but he hadn't been able to fathom her reaction. He'd hoped...but he hadn't been sure. And now his daughter was dragging him into what was now a family hug, and Wanda was smiling at him, and it was perfect.

But all too soon the Professor told them all that it was time for him and TJ to go, the stark white void fading back into the circular metal coma chamber.

They stood for a moment in silence. Kurt didn't know what he should say. What _could_ he say?

"You must want to get back to the festival. I can take you home-" he broke off as he realized that he didn't know how they would get back to Genosha. The blackbird was there already, and the other X-Men would likely be enjoying the revels until dawn. He scratched the back of his head. "We could call Blink?"

Wanda closed the distance between them, taking one of his hands in hers and smiling up at him. "Genosha can wait." She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. "I think I'd like to stay here for a while."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end. I know there are some loose ends but it's the end nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from ff.net


End file.
